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2015-04-20 - A Warm Chilly Reception
Kara Zor-El flies over the sea, towards Antarctica. With a passenger - Mia. To her credit, she does like flying - which is a good thing, because JetBlue doesnt have flights to their destination. "Janet did say it would take her a few days. She's an artist when it comes to fashion design. Duh." She looks forward. "There it is, a couple of miles ahead." she says as the sea gives way to ice, and then to a small crystalline structure jutting out of the ice, which gets larger and larger as the two fly closer and lower to land in front of ... The Fortress of Solitude. Mia has been dangling from Kara's left hand for the last five minutes or so, by her own request. Seeing what it'd be like to fly on her own, and grinning ear to ear. She keeps making little 'whoosh' noises whenever they pass a particularly interesting updraft, and stuff like that, giving one the idea that the flight is the fun part of this trip. But then, she hasn't seen the destination yet. "Where are we going anyway?" Mia asks happily, curious and keen to get there. "I mean, we're going way norther than I thought the ...woah, bright." She covers her eyes with her free arm a moment as the fortress comes into view. Wearing a pastel blue sleeveless top and a pair of blue jean shorts, there MIGHT be an indication that she's not cold even in the arctic chill. A clue, perhaps. Kara Zor-El smiles, looking at the Fortress as they land in front of the 20 foot high thick doors, made of opaque Kryptonian crystalline material. With a little 'Welcome' mat in front. "I wanted to show you this place since.. well... you're sort of like family. She crosses her arms and smiles. "Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude. At least that's what Kal calls it. I guess since it's a place he can go to get away from it all. Like the Batcave but not so dreary and dark and without the flying rodents. There are probably some polar bears around though. Not inside, though." She pauses. "Anyway, I wanted to wait until Kal got back from where he's been but who knows when that will be. I asked Hal Jordan .... um... Green Lantern... but he seems to be avoiding me. Anyway... just a quick notice, there's a robot in there who looks like Superman, but it's not, so don't get all nervous and flustered or anything, okay?" From afar, Kara Zor-El will next show her the key. Mia might be able to lift it with difficulty :) Mia wobbles when set down on the ground, wishing she'd worn more practical shoes. With boots that cover her ankles, two-inch heels might not have been the best choice, but she steadies herself and looks up at the door. And up a bit more. "I have this teeny idea why it's called that," she says mostly to eat up time, and because she's not got anything intelligent to say with her head overwhelmed a bit. "Do I knock or something?" She doesn't wait, walking up to the door and rapping on it with her knuckles and calling out, "Girl guide cookies! I don't think anyone is home, Kara." The Fortress security system alerts Clark that he's about to have visitors. He had only just returned to Earth from a Justice League mission to another planet and he hasn't informed anyone that he's back just yet. Not that he's hiding it, it's just that he wanted some downtime first. Moving into his hub, he checks the monitor, spotting Kara and a guest. His blue eyes narrow slightly at that, but he's going to trust that his cousin has a good reason for bringing someone else here without asking first. So, knowing that he's about to have guests, he decides to meet them at the door himself instead of sending one of the robots. At around the time Mia knocks on the door, it opens up and standing there is Superman. He steps forwards towards Kara first. "Hey. It's been awhile." He pulls her into a brief hug before turning to Mia, looking her over before asking. "Who's your friend?" Kara Zor-El blinks a bit when she gets hugged by Kal - the real Kal (getting hugged by the robot would have been weird) who she totally did not expect to be back on Earth yet. She's actually momentarily speechless, hugging back. "Oh um.. this here is Mia... she's my friend and ..." she starts to explain. The Mia being spoken of gets out of the way of the robot Kal as it comes out. She raises an eyebrow as it hugs Kara, mentally noting how good their AI must be. Well, Superman and all that. Makes sense. "I expected there to be some kind of scan or something," she says as she turns and looks in through the open doorway into the fortress. Scritching her head with her left hand, she says, "It's good work, I can actually hear a heartbeat even. Can I go inside?" Yes, completely ignoring Superman the first time she meets him, she turns and walks into the fortress without even looking at him really. Kal grins at Kara. "I arrived back on Earth last night. I haven't had the chance to tell anyone that I'm back yet." He turns to greet Mia but watches as she walks past him and into the Fortress proper. Understanding dawning on him from what she says. He grins at Kara. "You told her about the robots." Is all he says as he turns to follow Mia inside. "Well, I have hot cocoa waiting. The system detected your approach. It's how I knew you were coming." Kara Zor-El starts to try to explain to her friend how this was the REAL Superman, not the robot she was mentioning moments earlier, but she gets as far as "Uh Mia, that's..." before her cousin explains. Mia can be heard inside just before the two cousins enter. She's hyperventilating a little bit, from the sounds of it, and has probably forgotten how good hearing the two have. Mind you, the fact that she heard what THEY said suggests that she's just not thinking clearly. "So..." she says, waiting inside and blushing FURIOUSLY as she rubs her feet together. "Um, so, I heard cocoa?" She's put her glasses back on, little circular things that from the looks of it are just glass, ornamental. Kal chuckles a little before nudging Kara towards the door. "It's fine, Kara. Really. I've missed your company, and I'm glad to meet one of your friends." Once he steps inside the doors close on their own before he leads the two of them past the alien zoo and into a room with a table and some comfortable looking chairs. "So, Mia. It's a pleasure to meet you." He glances over his shoulder at her before smiling. "I don't often get visitors outside of the family." Once they enter the room a robot appears with a tray of three steaming mugs and places them on the table before moving out of the room. Kal gestures to the chairs, "Please, make yourself comfortable. Tell me a little about yourself." He sits down and palms a mug, sipping from it's contents while watching both women at once. Kara Zor-El gives her cousin a little punch to his shoulder, and whispers, "Did you tell Hal not to tell me you were back?" Then another hug and walks further in with them. "Missed you, Kal." Then she looks at the 'person' with the tray. "And that... Mia, would be the robot." she says, motioning at the other 'Superman' in the room, before sitting at one of the chairs and taking some hot cocoa. Because... hot cocoa. She lets Mia explain herself before she says anything about the new super girl in town. Putting her left hand to block Superman's vision in front of her face, Mia whispers to Kara, 'outside the family? He doesn't know?' as quietly as she can as they walk into the table room. Because that's what it is, it's a room with a table. And cocoa. She looks a little nervous, and, very oddly, a little cold. 'and is it colder in here than it was outside?' When Superman addresses her directly however, she turns to him and smiles as much as she can. Which is only terrified, which isn't bad considering she effectively insulted him earlier. "Cira Mia Walkers sir! I live in Metropolis and I'm an idiot in training. I mean I'm a hero in training." She pauses, frowning, and visibly relaxes as she looks at Kara and adds, "Is that what we're calling me? Super hero in training? Because I just realized what the acronym for that is and I'm probably going to how did I get a cocoa in my hands without my noticing?" She picked it up while she was babbling, and frowns at her hands. Kal looks relaxed in his chair and he chuckles a little. "I might have mentioned to Hal to keep my return to himself so I could have some downtime to unwind. The League responded to a distress signal in deep space. Turns out it was a planetary invasion by the Kree. It took more time than I originally thought it would." He pauses for a sip before asking. "So what is it that I don't know?" He points at his ears as he looks at Mia. "Sorry, I overheard you." He then looks at Mia again with a more scruitinizing gaze when she mentions being a hero in training. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Mia. I'm Kal-El, though most people just call me Superman. If you prefer, you can just call me Kal. Though you don't have to be so formal." He laughs lightly as the girl flusters a little. Apparently, he gets that alot. And it's actually warmer in here than it is outside. "So, Kara. What have I missed? How's Kon?" And he directs towards Mia. "Who's responsible for your training, if you don't mind me asking?" Kara Zor-El scrunches her nose. "Kree? Hate those guys. They tried to kidnap me twice, you know." She pauses then looks at Mia. "Um... Mia I have no idea what you're saying. Calm down, honest!" She looks over at Kal. "Mia is... um... sorta like Kon - her DNA's part human, part Kryptonian, but without a lot of the additional modifications that Kon had, and it looks like it required less human DNA as a stabilizer." She pauses. "I have no idea who did it, but apparently she was in a trash pod when she was a baby and it's definitely not from Earth. So.. yeah ... mystery." She pauses. "Oh and Kon's doing fine. Oh... and I got exposed to red kryptonite for a while and thought I was a pirate and beat up some guy who thinks he's a spider." She pauses. "Yeah I think that's about it." Mia stops talking for a moment, sipping her cocoa and letting the chocolatey goodness calm her nerves. It is pretty good actually. While Kara and Kal talk, she takes a few deep, slow breaths and lets the tai chi training bring her down from full-on panic babble to a normal, reasonable level. "I'm someone's garbage," she says, agreeing and focusing entirely on the one point made in all that from both Kal and Kara that's negative. "This is really good. Kara says my DNA is...what did you call it? Oh, and I saw you on the news when you went pirate. You look really good in leather." Mia tacks on as she finishes her cocoa, (yes, it's already gone) "Kara and Nightwing have been showing me the ropes. Not literally, no ropes involved. Yet. I don't know about ropes really doing much good anyway because, y'know, strong." Kal processes the new information quickly. A hand going to his head when Kara mentions being exposed to Red K again. And then when she tells him that Mia is a Kryptonian clone, he stares at her for a moment, inspecting her DNA himself. He then leans back in his chair. So she wasn't overly modified like Kon. He hated the fact that someone would do this. It meant that someone stole DNA for it. And that was the worst kind of violation in his book. He rubs his chin. "I see." It also means that it was another half kryptonian that he would feel responsible for. "Mia, one person's garbage is another person's treasure. You're one of us, and I'm assuming that since Kara approves that you're not dangerous or part of some conspiracy to destroy us. So on that note, welcome to the family. Nightwing is a good man, and he'll do right by you." Another pause. "If Kara doesn't mind, I would like to spend some time training you as well." It's not that he doesn't trust Kara, but he needs to know Mia's limitations and abilities for himself. Kara said that she's different from Kon, and he wanted to know how much. "And Kara, we will be having a discussion later about this pirate phase of yours." Kara Zor-El winces a little about the future pirate discussion, but she distracts by getting back to Mia. "I mean the closest I've seen to modification like that was back on Krypton... and Krypton didnt do DNA splicing of human DNA. So... I was thinking maybe it's something from the future. Not like people from the future havent come to the present before... I don't know." Mia sets down her cup, proving for all time that she's not out of control so much she shatters teacups at the drop of a hat. One for the good guys. "I thought that I might be one of you two's kid actually, maybe from the future, but that was because I thought there WERE only two kryptonians anymore. No way though, I lack your fashion sense and we all know that's an inherited trait." She also tends to babble. Hearing that Superman is also going to train her, well, she files that in the back of her mind to panic over later and takes another deep breath. One panic at a time, after all. She's learning to pace herself. "I'd appreciate that sir. Just...don't expect me to actually call you Kal right away. Please. I'm a librarian in training in the real world, and my parents are already hyped about me meeting ONE of you. Mind you, I tore the door off the fridge last night and my sister stuffed her chicken pie down my blouse so I think they'll take any help they can get with me right about now." And, breathe. Kara Zor-El blinks. "Wait what? Chicken pie... down your blouse. Why exactly?" she asks, a look of utter confusion. Kal nods at Kara. "Well, I've told you my theory about quantum flux and the reason why this world and this time seems to draw others into it." His dad was a scientist, some of that did rub off on him, even though he never physically met the man. Some things are just genetic. "But the how or why is something that we can work to figure out later. Right now, Mia, I'm concerned about your well being. An untrained person with powers like ours can be a danger to others and to themselves. Which is why I'm very relieved that Kara is teaching you. I taught her how to handle her abilities when she first got here, so I know you're in good hands." He leans forwards, "One thing about me is that family is important. Especially since I never knew my own parents. I'm lucky to have both Kara and Kon in my life and I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. I've always been told that it's impossible for a kryptonian and a human to conceive a child, but perhaps that's different in the future, or alternate timeline that you come from. Afterall, it's not completely unheard of as Kara has pointed out." He shrugs slightly. "But I want you to know that if you need anything, or just have questions, that I will make myself available to you whenever you need me." He pointedly ignores the comment about the chicken pie down her blouse. Kara Zor-El looks at Kal, surprised at how he trusts her to train Mia. Then again, it's Kal. He's trusted her from the first second he spoke to her in the Batcave. At worst, he might spy on her because he's protective, but she was pretty sure he wouldnt do that either after how badly that route went with her. And since their big fight and reconcilliation, he'd always given her a lot of space and treated her as an adult more than pretty much anyone else. Still... it was nice to know that if she messed up on training Mia with her one year or so of experience, she had pretty much the best superhero ever to help fix the inevitable mess. Without saying it was an inevitable mess. Then she looks at Mia. "So um... chicken pie down your blouse?" she asks again, intent on not talking about the pirate thing. Mia takes a breath. Lots to listen to there, and she goes silent while the others are talking. She looks honestly embarrased, putting her hands behind her as Kal tells her that she's as welcome as she is, not having expected such a homey welcome. Not from him. "You're really nice," she says bluntly, having no real control over her mouth sometimes. "Sorry. I've been told I jabber a lot. I love my family too, would kill me if anything happened to them and mom's been teaching me tai chi to help out. I think I'm retarded lucky to NOT have any tragic story or anything." She looks at Kara and says, taking her time, "I flinched when the cat ran over the table in the kitchen and tore the door off the fridge. My sister was already upset because of me continually tearing to back door off, and because Tony Kaiser didn't ask her out yesterday like he was supposed to and she went absolutely ballistic and got up from the table and stuffed her dinner plate in my face and made sure it went down my shirt. So now we're storing our food at the neighbor's house. I think we need to start thinking about modular door frames that come apart when you apply pressure to them." Long distance to Kara Zor-El: Mia needs to show some appreciation to you for your help, but my poses are far too long as it is. I leave stuff out. From afar, Kara Zor-El hugs Kal smiles at Mia. "It's alright. I imagine that this is a little overwhelming for you. Having grown up on Earth myself, I know how important family is." He grins. "And when I was younger, I used to break stuff all the time. My Dad..my adoptive dad helped me get it under control with meditation. The more you learn about yourself and the more control you gain, those little accidents will stop happening. Afterall, we are capable of fine muscle control. That's a skill that I can teach you if you like." Kara Zor-El thinks about that. "That might be something better for you to teach than me, yeah Kal." Kara still has trouble sometimes with how much to hold back on stuff. Especially if she gets excited about doing something. Mia wonders how exactly Superman got that farmboy smile, and she gives him a standard city girl grin, shaking her head unconsciously at his statements. There's something disarming about him when he's not being SUPERMAN, MAN OF STEEL! "If it counts, I've got all kinds of respect for what Kara's done so far. I mean, I need to raise money for a new fridge but that's not on either of you. I get a pass though on a lot of breakies though, only had my powers a few...what, weeks now? It hasn't been a month yet I don't think. Oh! Kara! Tell him about Janet! I'll have a super-costume soon!" Mia rambles. "Well, I call them powers but 'I'm strong' isn't the pluralized form of power. It's kind of the lot." Kal nods to Kara. "You're getting there. Afterall you have a boyfriend and you haven't killed him yet. That counts for something." He was married to a human and manages not to hurt Lois at all. "It's mostly about confidence. Believe that you can do it, and you can." He stands up and motions for Mia to stand up as well. "Well, then, since you've just gotten your abilities let's test your strength." He holds his arm out towards her. "Move my arm." Kara Zor-El looks at Kal. "Yeah the other thing that's different than Kon. For some reason apparently her powers were dormant for a long time." She looks at Mia, then back at Kal. "Yeah and um.... don't tell your mom, but we went to a friend of mine... Janet Van Dyne. She's in the Avengers? Wasp? She's also a fashion designer and she's working on making a costume for Mia that won't... you know... poof under a normal day's work. She doesnt seem to have the same type of invulnerability." She doesnt say ANYTHING about what she's managed to do with Dedrick. Then watches as Kal wants to gauge Mia's strength. Mia cracks her knuckles. She takes a moment, stretching her shoulders as she eyes Superman's outstretched arm, focused and glaring at it like it's the target to destroy. If she had heat vision it'd probably be on fire. She looks at Kara for support, then nods to Superman and steps up to him, reaching out with both hands and grasping his wrist. Then she hauls off and, ...hangs from his arm, swinging and giggling. "Whee!" Only for a moment though, she blushes and gets down quickly. "Sorry. Serious, right." Kal smiles at Kara. "I know Janet. We worked together when I used to mentor at the Avenger's Academy. She's a little eccentric, but she's a nice woman. I'm sure she'll do right by Mia. Just...please...make sure her uniform covers most of her. That's all I ask. And also, I would be proud if she would wear the symbol of our House." He flashes a smile as Mia hangs from his arm and even chuckles a little. "I have to admit, your innocence is refreshing. Now, I would appreciate it if you would actually try. Consider this the first part of your training." Mia says, "My real name is Cira, sir. That's what I go by when I'm hero-ing, though nobody's actually ASKED what my name is yet," as she gets a grip on his wrist again. More seriously this time. Reefing on his arm with both hands to one side, she plants her feet and grunts, still talking as she does. "Not sure what your house is though, nnf, I'm assuming it's related to the chest thing," and she trails off, really hauling on it with enough force to move a loaded supertanker. Barely 100,000 tons. Mia frowns, shaking her head, and then gets underneath the arm. "Just...don't move. I gotta do this." She gets her shoulder under Kal's arm and plants both feet, hard. Then she closes her eyes and uses her legs, and LIFTS. Which puts out more. A lot more. 300,000...and harder, she's sweating actively now, and she actually...hits....500,000 TONS. Then she collapses on the floor, gasping for breath and red in the face. Kal remains passive as Mia attempts to move his arm. His gaze is analytical as he's watching her technique and how much she can put out. His arm doesn't move, of course, but he nods all the same. "Excellent. You're stronger than Kon, but not as much as Kara or myself. We can work with that." He then motions to the S on his chest. "This symbol represents more than just the 'Super' part of our name. That's just circumstance. I blame Lois. What it actually means is the House of El. It's a sort of family crest. Kara is my cousin, Kara Zor-El. Which is why she wears it. Conner is my clone, but I think of him more as a son. Kon-El. And as for you, 'Cira..'" He smiles a little. "I think Cira-El has a nice ring to it. Should anyone ask we can say that you're my niece or something. Which is why I said that I would be proud if you wore it." Kara Zor-El looks around. "um... doesnt Cira-el sound a little like cereal? Maybe it can just be something shorter, like Cir-El? I mean... Cir's a Kryptonian name. My friend Thara and I used to hang out with a girl named Cir." She thinks, looking at Mia. Sorta reminds her of Thara a little even. Mia waves from the floor, saying, "Cir-El, got it," as she tries to catch her breath. That effort took a lot out of her, and apparently she didn't get the kryptonian stamina along with the power level. "I did that...with Kara too. You two both suck." Getting to her feet, she pauses, then says to Superman's face, "I...should probably stop joking around when I'm being brought into someone's family. I mean, every family is special, but this is kind of...huge." Kal looks over at Kara and winces a little when he realizes that she's right. "Oh, right. Sorry. Cir-El it is, then." He smiles a little and then looks at Mia. "It's not something that is done lightly. And being associated with us means that you'll more than likely be a target of our enemies. And that is a long list. But I am confident that once you have been fully trained, you'll be able to handle anything that's thrown at you. That is our goal now. And I think the Titans is a great place to start with that. Do you agree Kara?" Kara Zor-El looks at Kal smiling, then Mia. "Yeah. Definitely Titans material. And Mia.... trust me. You joking around will fit right in just fine... Kon has regular practical joke sessions at the Titans. Annoyingly regular pranks. Him, Garfield, Cyborg ... sometimes Robin. I'd say Starfire too but I don't think she's doing what she does as a joke." Mia takes a moment. She adjusts her glasses, then looks down. Broke a frigging heel, damnit. She sighs, then stands up as straight as she can. Which is lopsided to the left. She smiles at Kal, and at Kara, and ..after a moment, a little bit, at herself. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she says, as honest as ever. "But it sounds like a blast." Without a word, Kal takes Mia's shoe and holds it up in front of him. His eyes glow red briefly before he hands the shoe back to her, the heel fixed. He shrugs. "Happens to Lois all the time." He comments before a robot comes in and clears away the mugs of cocoa. "Well, there are some things that I need to attend to. You two are of course, welcome to stay as long as you like. Cir, it was very nice meeting you. You and I will be seeing a lot more of each other. Kara, we will discuss that pirate issue later, but good luck with the training and everything. I may stop by Titan tower soon to look in on you both." Mia puts on her shoe. Like a Supergirl. Which means you get free cobbler service apparently. Hey, that totally offsets the planet-destroying rogue's gallery! She grins as she adds that to one more thing to panic over. New family, Superman, Supergirl, heard something about a dog even. And she grins, looking around at the fortress of solitude, all brave and strong, and says, :says, "Does this place have a bathroom? I think I'm gonna throw up." Pure class.